Belgian Prime Minister Resigns Following Party's Election Defeat

Alexander De Croo, the Prime Minister of Belgium, announced on the social media platform 'X' (formerly Twitter) that the King of Belgium has accepted his resignation. Mr. De Croo resigned following a heavy defeat of his party, the Flemish Liberals and Democrats, in the elections but will continue to manage the country's affairs until a new government is formed. In his message published on the morning of Monday, June 11, he thanked the voters and added, 'The election results were very disappointing for us, and I take responsibility for it.' According to statistics published by Belgian media, Mr. De Croo's party received 5.4% of the votes, which is about three percent less compared to the last general elections in Belgium held about five years ago. Despite predictions regarding the victory of the anti-immigration party 'Vlaams Belang,' which is a far-right party in the Flanders region of Belgium, the nationalist and conservative party 'New Flemish Alliance' (N-VA) is leading with 16.7% of the votes. It is expected that this party will lead the future coalition government in Belgium. Alongside the European Parliament elections, general and regional elections were also held in Belgium. Initial results indicate that far-right parties have increased their share of votes more than others. Alexander De Croo, on Sunday evening after the initial results were clear, told his supporters, 'It was a difficult evening for us. We lost. Tomorrow I will resign from the Prime Minister's position.' Bart De Wever, the leader of the 'New Flemish Alliance' (N-VA), after the party's leading position was confirmed, said, 'They had written our obituary, but we succeeded in this election.' According to the Belgian constitution, the King will select the leader of one of the parties as the negotiator for forming a new government. Belgian media report that Bart De Wever is likely to be appointed by the King as the head of the new coalition government formation before the end of this week. The 'Reform Movement,' which is a liberal party, has received the most votes in Brussels and French-speaking regions of Belgium, and it is unlikely that the negotiation process for forming a coalition government will be quick, as it may take months. Statistics from the general election results in Belgium, after counting about 90% of the votes published on the Ministry of Interior's website, show that the nationalist and conservative 'New Flemish Alliance' (N-VA) is in the lead, while Alexander De Croo's party is in ninth place. According to initial statistics from the Ministry of Interior, the 'New Flemish Alliance' received about 22% of the votes, the anti-immigration and far-right 'Vlaams Belang' received about 17%, and the Socialist Party received about 10%. Belgium holds the record for being without a government. The process of forming a government after the general elections in December 2021 took about 540 days. About eight million voters in this country, which has a population of 11.5 million, participated in the voting on Sunday.